Piano-forte



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet l.

J. P. RICHARDSON.

PIANO FORTE. No. 388,308. Patented Aug. 21, 1888.

i n A t (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. P. RICHARDSON.

PIANO FORTE. No. 388,308. Patented-Aug. 21, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT JOHN P. RICHARDSON, OF CAMBRIDGE, ASSIGNOR TO THE MASON & HAM- LIN ORGAN AND PIANO COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

PIANO-FORTE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 388,308, dated August 21, 1888,

Application tiled June 16, 1885. Serial No. 168,874.

.To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN P. RICHARDSON, of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Piano-Fortes, of which the following is a full, clear, and ex act description.

This invention relates to improvements in piano forte actions, and more particularly to actions for upright pianofortes; and the invention consists of certain construction and arrangement of parts in combination with a piano-forte action, all substantially as hereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying plate of drawings is illustrated the present invention, Figures 1 and 2 representing in side elevation an action of an upright piano-forte having the present invention combined therewith, Fig. 1 representing all partsin their normal position or at rest, and Fig. 2 representing some of the parts as having been moved into the position desired for producing the soft tones according to this invention when playing the instrument; and Figs. 5, 4, and 5 represent detail side views of modifications.

In the drawings, A represents the key-frame of a piano-forte action, to which the usual end uprights (not shown in the drawings) of the action are attached and secured, and to which the horizontal rail B is secured at its ends in the usual manner for supporting the various parts of the action. 0 is the key, pivoted at a to the key'frame A. D is thejack, pivoted at b to a horizontal lever, E, in turn pivoted at c to a flange, F, on the rail 13. G is the hammer on the stem H of the butt J, pivoted at d to the flange K, secured to the rail B, the hammer-butt J bearing and resting by its shoulderf on the upper end,g, of the jack D. Lis the back catclnattached to the lever E, and M the damper, pivoted at h to the flange N, secured to the rail B. P is the string; Q, the push rod or stem, pivoted at Z to an arm, R, pivoted at m to a flange, S, secured to the rail T of frame A, the arm R resting by its free end a on the key O, all as usual in upright-pianoforte actions, in connection with a few other parts not deemed necessary to refer to, and all needing no particular description herein or as to their operation, as they are common and (No model.)

well known, except so far as the present invention is connected therewith.

The push-rod has pivoted to it at its upper end, at r, a block or plate or segment, U, eX- tending upward therefrom, and on which pivot it can swing forward and backward, its upper edge, 8, preferably being in the arc of a circle which is eccentric to its pivot r, the length of theend or cornertl'rom its pivot'r being longer than the length of its end or corner a to said pivot.

The jack-lever rests by its under side i) on the edge 8 of the block, and when in the position shown in Fig. 1 it rests on the end a of the hammer, then being in its true and normal position for the proper working of the action and resting on its jack, and through the jack and rod Q on the key.

to is apiece of cloth or felt between the lever E and the block U, one end of it being secured to the block ati and its other end to the lever by any suitable adhesive material or in any suitable manner,whieh prevents noise between the parts and secures permanent connection of 75. the same.

Pivoted at x to the rod Q by one end is an arm, V, in turn pivoted by its other end to one end of a flange or arm, XV, secured to a rail, Y, which rail is connected by arms Z to a rail, A adapted to turn by its ends in suitable bearings in the end uprights.

B is a bar or red connected to and projecting from the swiveling rail A and by its end 3 by a slot, If, over a pin, (P, on the vertical rod 0 which rod G extends downward and is connected to the usual pedal of the pianoforte for operation thereof by the foot of the player, as usual. Pressing the foot on the pedal raises the vertical rod 0 and through its arms B swings the rail A, carrying its rail Y forward, and thus the upper end of the pushrod forward, swinging on its pivot Z, its block U rolling, as it were, by its edge 5 on the under side of the jack-lever, bringing its corner 5 or end if in line with the rod Q, which by its increased length from the pivot 1' over the length at it raises the leverE and itsjack, and thus the hammer, into the position shown in Fig. 2, and in which position, it the keyis IOO played, the tone produced by the string from the blow of the hammer thereon will be diminished in power and sound, and thus softened, and at the same time the hammer is in connection by its jack, jack-lever, and pushrod with the key.

D is a horizontal rail back of the hammerstems H, against which they fall in the playing of the action, and serving as a safeguard against the hammers falling back too far to prevent the jacks properly taking hold of the hammerbutts to again cause the hammer to strike the string in repeating the blow on the key, and in moving the hammers forwardinto the position shown in Fig. 2 to produce the soft tones, as described, it is essential that this rail D should be moved forward correspondingly for its proper use, and such movement is accomplished as follows: Attached to each end of the rail and projecting downwardly is an arm, E", each arm being pivoted at d to its respective end upright. Connected to one arm E of this rail is an arm, F", which arm F has a slot-,f engaging with a pin, 9, on the vertical rod 0 in a similar manner to the arm 13' of rail A". As the rail A is operated by the rod 0 to raise the hammers, the rail D through its arm E is swung forward at the same time into proper position to support the hammers, as described, and as it is swung forward it also assists in raising the hammers.

In Fig. 3 is shown a modification of the rod Q, being pivoted at its upper end, at If, directly to 'thejack-lever E, and the block U being reversed and pivoted at Z to the lower end of the rod Q, its circular edge 8 resting and operating on the upper surface of thekey A in a similar manner to its operation on the lever E when secured at the upper end of the rod, 25 being its long arm and it its short arm.

By an arrangement as herein described the hammers, through the jacks and push-rods, rest at all times on the keys, whether in their normal positions or in their changed or softstop position, or in changing from one to the other, thus securing a constant sensitiveness of the action and not injuring or affecting the touch; also, this arrangement of moving the push-rods under thejack-levers lengthens the fulcrum or action of the jack-le vers, lightening or diminishing the blow of the hammers on the string, and in itself reducing the sound produced by the strings, which also accords with the natural tendency of the player when using the soft-stop to play with a lighter touch;

also, by having the outer points, t u, of contact and practical operation of the block U connected by an edge in the arc of a circle, a graduation of the blow given by the hammers will be secured, and consequent graduation of the loudness or softness of the tone produced by the strings by the player operating the pedal to move the push-rod Q more or less, as desired.

As the endstu ofthe block U are practically the principal operating parts of the block, it is obvious they need not be connected by the edge 8, but between the two points the block can be cut away, as shown in Fig. 5; but it is preferable to have the curved edge, 8, connection, as in the operation of the same the parts work the easier and better. By this arrangement of lengthening out, as it were, the pushrod Z and preserving its connection with the keys and jacks and the jacks with the hammers the full movement or dip of the keys is also maintained, which is of importance, as in this respect the touch and sensitiveness of the action is secured; also, the hammers can be raised into the necessary half-way positions to produce the soft tones by the operation of the rail D alone, or in any suitable manner, and the jacks moved or raised, as described, to preserve their connection with the hammerbutts in lieu of directly raising the hammers by the jacks, as described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a piano-forte action, in combination, key 0, push-rod Q, plate or block U, pivoted to said rod, jack D, and hammer M, for the purpose specified.

2. In a piano-forte action, in combination, key 0, push-rod Q, plate or block U, pivoted to said rod and having a curved edge, 3, eccentric to its pivot, jack D, and hammer M, for the purpose specified.

3. In a piano-forte action, in combination, key 0, push-rod Q. plate or block U, pivoted to said rod, jack D, hammer III, and swiveling rail A connected to said rod Q, and to the pedal of thepiano-forte, for the purpose specilied.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN I. RICHARDSON.

.IVitnesses:

EDWIN W. BROW'N, HENRY A. CLARK. 

